


Wouldn't It Be Nice

by MythicalCatie



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jealous Rhett, M/M, Valentine's Day, teen!rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicalCatie/pseuds/MythicalCatie
Summary: In the small town of Buies Creek, North Carolina, certain secrets have to be kept to preserve the lives of those that harbor them. Teenage inhabitants Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have never been fans of that concept, especially not on the fourteenth of February, the night when their secret most deserves to be told.





	Wouldn't It Be Nice

“I think we should take other people to the Valentine’s Day dance,” Link told Rhett softly.

His bare feet were propped up on the older boy’s lap, his back against the wall of the blond’s bedroom as they sat together on his mattress. It was still light outside his window, school not having let out very long before. Save for the pair, the house was empty; Rhett’s parents were still at work, and for a while now, ever since his older brother had gone off to college, Rhett had been the only bird still in the nest. However, they still liked to keep their voices quiet out of habit. The last thing they needed was somebody who had come home early overhearing their conversation.

This was something that Rhett had expected to hear. He had long ago resigned himself to the fact that here, in this town, they couldn’t let their love for one another leave the confines of spaces that only they inhabited. Maybe when they were away at college, or even when they relocated to a more forgiving community, they could let the fact that one day, they dreamed of walking down the aisle to one another, not women, become common knowledge, but not now. For now, it was their little secret.

It only made sense that they’d ask members of the female species to the school dance, and it was practically a done deal as soon as the event had been announced. It was something that they’d known they’d _have_ to do because they certainly couldn’t go together, but it was still nice to have a conversation about it anyway. It wasn’t that they had to hatch the plan, because as far as they were concerned, they already had. It was about their respect for each other, and if Link hadn’t brought it up, Rhett would have.

“Yeah, it’d be a bit pathetic to go stag,” Rhett replied, resting a chilled hand on his boyfriend’s calf. “It **is** a Valentine’s Day dance. Maybe we can ask Amber and Leslie?”

Link’s first instinct was to jump away from the boy’s cold touch, but instead, he retaliated. Taking his own foot (that was attached to his free leg), which he knew damn well was **freezing** , he shifted it slightly to rest atop the offending hand, only sending a loving smile Rhett’s way when his expression morphed into a scowl. “We could try. They might already have dates, though.”

“I know that, but _anybody_ we ask could, in theory, already have a date. I’d rather ask them first, though. It just sounds like a better idea to go with friends, you know? People who have no chance of wanting to get with us. It’d be messier if the girl starts to think we like her, and then we have to deal with…-” Maybe it wasn’t best to get into things that weren’t actually happening. They had enough to deal with already; hypotheticals were just an unnecessary burden. “Just... let’s ask them first. And Link? Get your ice cube of a foot off of me before I have to shove mine where the sun don’t shine.”

* * *

 

“Okay, so, give me the full report,” Rhett instructed in something of a whisper as he tossed his backpack in the corner before falling down onto Link’s bed, taking up so much of it that he hung off the edges. His pubescent growth spurt had really hit him hard. He had been tall before, sure, but back then, at least there was **some** room left over for Link.

“I will as soon as you make some space for me on my own bed,  **Gigantor** ,” he spat, though Rhett had no doubt that the comment was without malice, even despite the shorter boy’s tone.  

“Sorry bo,” the blond chuckled warmly, pulling himself into a sitting position and propping the pillow at the head of the bed against the wall so that he could give Link as much space as possible by sitting at the far end.

A soft smile found its way onto Link’s face as he lowered himself down onto the mattress, brushing his fingers over the back of Rhett’s hand as he moved. “Well, you don’t have to sit _that_ far away, baby. I’m not contagious, and it’s just us here, at least for a little while. C’mon, move a bit closer.”

Eying the door anxiously, Rhett obliged and scooted nearer to his boyfriend, still stopping at a respectable distance (which, of course, Link closed by yanking him to his side).

“Nobody’s _home_ ,” the younger giggled, snaking his arms around Rhett’s waist and burrowing his head in his neck for a tight hug. “Stop being such a worrier.”

Rhett frowned in response, his eyes squinting and his eyebrows furrowing in that way that Link had always found adorable. “You were only able to move me because I let you. Don’t start thinking you’re stronger than I am, Neal.”

“Never,” he muttered, smiling against Rhett’s skin. No matter how much he liked to _believe_ that he could overpower his boyfriend if the need arose, the reality was that he was always one wrong move away from being pinned under the older boy until he felt enough pity to leave poor Link be. But then again, where was the harm in Rhett letting Link “win” once in a while?

“Good,” Rhett replied with a grin that Link could neither see nor feel, but could just barely hear. A habit long-engrained, his eyes darted to the door (to see to it that it was locked) and his ears listened for anything but silence on the first floor before he pressed his lips to the top of Link’s head. ‘ _I’m not contagious, and it’s just us here.’_ “So I talked to Amber. Got lucky. She said she didn’t have a date, so she told me she’d let me take her,” he explained, reintroducing the topic by giving his “full report” so that Link had an easy opening to follow suit. “How about Leslie?”

Link shifted his head just slightly enough so that it was no longer buried in Rhett’s neck, but still resting on his shoulder. It was merely a compromise, of course. That way, Rhett could hear what he was saying without having to strain, and he could still be comfortable (though, understandably, he’d much rather not have to find a middle ground at all). “She turned me down,” Link said to break the news, worried about how Rhett would react. Well, worried about how he would feel, anyway. He wouldn’t get **angry** about it. Things like this happened, and the last thing he’d do is take it out on Link. But Link knew how he had felt about going with somebody that _wasn’t_ Leslie; he’d rather not deal with the repercussions. Hopefully, it wouldn’t upset him too much. “Told me Bryan Harper already asked her, but thank you. ‘m sorry, Rhett.”

Rhett quirked an eyebrow, ducking his head and angling his neck so that he could try to make eye contact. It certainly helped that Link’s baby blues trailed up to meet him. “What’re you sorry for, Link? It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s _fault_. Leslie’s a pretty girl and another boy got to her before you could. So what? We knew that could happen. It was just the best case scenario. We had a plan B. You can just ask someone else, okay?”

Yeah, sure, Rhett would have **preferred** that Link go with Leslie, but there was nothing they could do about that if she was already going with Bryan Harper. And who’s to say that it would be _that_ messy if Link asked a girl who didn’t know what his intentions were from the start? He could plead miscommunication and it would be **fine**. It was nothing that Link should feel he had to _apologize_ for.

“I know we did,” Link assured softly, not looking away from him. “But the plan A would have been better. I just wish it’d worked out.”

“Me too,” Rhett echoed, just wanting for them not to have to go through this nonsense of asking any girls at all, even if they were friends. Even if the girls were people they liked. All he wanted was to be able to take _Link._ What fun was a Valentine’s Day dance, what _good_ was there in going, if he couldn’t even escort the person that he actually **loved**? He knew. It was just the way that things had to be in this town, but that didn’t mean it was fair or that he had to like it. He never would. “Me too.”

* * *

 

“Link, honey, you better get movin’ or you’re gonna be late pickin’ up that date of yours,” Link’s mother called up the stairs after having checked the time. Her son had always been the type to take longer getting ready than a soul should.

“I know, mom!” he called back, his voice carrying downstairs due to his open bedroom door. “I have my alarm clock timer up here, remember?! I know what time it is!”

“Well, pardon me for tryin’ to keep you punctual!”

The teen simply rolled his eyes at this, adjusting the knot on his tie before grabbing his car keys off of his bedside table. Sue had always been the type of person to want to be out the door an hour before an event began, even if the car ride was only twenty minutes long. He, on the other hand, was more relaxed (and realistic) about things like that.

Okay, maybe he was only fifteen minutes away from the time when he was supposed to be knocking on Gabrielle Hayden’s front door, but so what? Who could blame him for dragging his feet when he knew that Rhett wouldn’t be the one on the other side of it?

“Coming now!”

One day, things would be different. They’d move to some big city like New York or Los Angeles or Boston together, and they could be themselves. They would be accepted and they wouldn’t have to worry about being labelled “sinners” or “immoral” or told that they were going to Hell for their love of one another.

One day, they wouldn’t have to pretend to like anybody but each other. They’d never have to take another Gabrielle Hayden to another dance again. Rhett could take Link and Link could take Rhett and nobody would bat a single fucking eyelash.

One day, everything would be the way they had always dreamt. One day, things would be okay. But, unfortunately, to get there, he had to do some things he didn’t like. Things that he **hated** to do. Both of them did. But it would be worth it in the end, right? After all, it was for _them._ For Rhett, Link would suffer a thousand lonely Valentine’s Days, and he didn’t doubt that his boyfriend felt the same.

“You be careful, now,” Sue instructed once Link came into view and earshot near the bottom of the staircase. “Don’t stay out too late. Have some fun, but don’t you make me a grandmother in nine months, Charles Lincoln. Just because it’s Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you need a lovechild. Treat that Hayden girl like a lady.”

Link had to put in a special effort to keep himself from rolling his eyes at his mother’s comment. The only way that she was ever going to be a grandmother was through a lengthy adoption process, but she wouldn’t know that for a long time. He’d just have to play along and hope that she believed his assurances to be true.

“I won’t, mom, I promise. I’m nowhere near ready to be a father. Trust me, it’ll be a long time before that’s the case, and I definitely won’t be getting into anything on my first date with a person. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

The boy didn’t wait for anything more than a, “sounds like a plan, sugar,” before he walked out the door, knowing that other words would come if he hung around (even though he’d take hanging out with his mother over going on a date with Gabby Hayden any day of the week). _You’re gonna be late, Neal._ Rhett’s voice, not his own. _There are no excuses for being late. Go._

“Okay.”

* * *

 

The decorations in the gym were cheesier than Rhett had imagined they’d be. Cut out paper hearts and strung up banners, red and pink balloons taped along the walls, slowly deflating more and more with each second that passed. Homemade origami doves that he was sure his classmates had worked very hard on, but were cliché all the same. The school was probably saving all of their budget except for the five dollars they spent on this for prom night in May (as if that would be any less agonizing).

A punchbowl in the far corner, lovesick high schoolers slowly swaying to “Time After Time”. What he wouldn’t pay to burn this whole thing to the ground.

It was only a couple hours, of course. All he had to last was until maybe ten or so, and then he could take Amber home under the guise of doing the gentlemanly thing and returning her safely at a respectable hour. Just ten o’clock, and then he could go back to his own house and fantasize about a day when he wouldn’t have to play by this town’s rules, when Link would be the one on his arm instead. A few dances, and it’d be over ( _until the next one comes around_ ). Just a little pretending was all.

“Do you want to go say hi to any of your friends?” Rhett asked his date, having to avert his gaze downward to catch her eye; she was too short to look directly at. Lots of people were nowadays. “I could go grab us a snack or something while you do that,” After a pause that he hoped wasn’t too long, Rhett added, to make it sound like that wasn’t the option that he would greatly prefer, but rather something that he was leaving entirely up to her, “if you want.”

“I have a friend right here, remember?” Amber giggled, an innocent, oblivious smile on her face. “And I’d like to say hello to him while we’re having a dance. If _he_ doesn’t mind, that is.”

The fact that Rhett had a delayed reaction to the girl’s response was impossible not to notice; the pause was so long (or maybe it only felt that way because time slowed in his head?) that a person would have to be dead not to realize that it had happened. He had been _counting_ on her wanting to chat. She ignored enough lessons in class to do it that he was certain it’d be inevitable here. Maybe it just wasn’t as fun if she couldn’t get in trouble for it. “Oh… uhm, yeah. Sure thing,” he answered, holding out a fumbling hand for her to take as he mentally kicked himself. _Keep your head in the damn game, for Christ’s sake._ “I’d love to dance.”

* * *

 

His hand felt cold on her waist, and his inside felt hollow, but heavy, too. Her head was on his chest, and he didn’t mind. He couldn’t bring himself to care. He could only stare beyond her into the sea of those surrounding them and wish that he could have what they had. Not their love, oh no. He didn’t want that for him and Link; the odds were that the majority of these couples would break up before the calendar year ended, and those that didn’t wouldn’t be far behind. But the two of them? There was no denying that they would go to their graves loving one another. And yeah, sure, all of the other teenagers in this room thought the exact same about them and their sweetheart, but with he and Link, it was actually true. He didn’t want their love. He just wished that he had the same ability that they had, the ability to show his own.

What made the straight couples in this school, in this _town_ , special? What made them any better than a woman who loves a woman or a man who loves a man? Why were straight couples celebrated while same-sex ones were afraid to so much as walk down the street holding hands because of what it would bring to them? Why couldn’t a same-sex couple take each other to a **Valentine’s Day** dance? Why was one set of couples free and clear while the others were doomed to burn in eternal hellfire for their “sins”? That wasn’t _fair._ How was that **fair**? Why weren’t they just allowed to be themselves?

It wasn’t because God said so, that was for sure. Rhett had read the Bible cover to cover a hundred times and nowhere in it did it say that homosexuality was wrong. “Man shall not lie with man” was a _misprint_. The entire ground that the South had to stand on was a typo. God hadn’t made a mistake with him, and He hadn’t made a mistake with anybody like him, either. If only Buies Creek could **understand** that. Love was love, end of story. It was just too bad that neither of them had the courage to stand up for theirs.

* * *

 

Link kept hoping that Rhett would excuse himself so that he could, too. Make a quick trip to the punch bowl or slip away to the bathroom so that Link could follow him and give him a hug and say hello.

It wasn’t as if they couldn’t bear to be apart for one night. They’d done it a hundred times before, and they’d do it a hundred times over again before the last time came around. It was just that _this_ night of all nights should be spent together, and he’d be damned if he didn’t even get to speak to the kid once.

He wouldn’t go over there and interrupt Rhett and Amber, no. He wouldn’t pull his boyfriend from his date because that would be seen as clingy and needy and that would put off the image that they were weirdos to those that didn’t understand. It would just have to happen naturally, but that could take forever. It seemed like he hadn’t left her side in an hour. He’d never get a moment alone with Rhett, would he?

He had tried to give the older boy opportunities, heading off to the snack table to get Gabrielle a drink or a heart-shaped cookie or something else of the like, and he barely had his eyes on his task the entire time that he was carrying it out. Link mostly kept his eyes on Rhett, needing him to see him, too. But those attempts hadn’t worked.

It was hard not to, in all of his staring, notice that Rhett was agitated. Though the boy’s upset was clear, Link wrote it off as him feeling the same way that he himself did: disappointed that they had to keep this charade up at all. It was more than understandable, expected, even, that that was the case, and Link couldn’t imagine that it was for any reason else. They’d been dreading this for _weeks_. How could that not be it?

His limbs felt heavy, much like cinder was weighing them down. It was as if he had been dancing for days. He knew, though, that if it wasn’t Gabrielle’s arms around his neck, he’d be as light as a feather. Gosh, he couldn’t wait to fly one day.

Though he’d been off all night, Link felt downright sick to his stomach when _that_ song came on, knowing it was wrong to dance along. It was reserved for _them_ and them only, and he just wanted to break the sound system when the first note played. The whole damn **night** was wrong, but this was especially so. Link’s only comfort was that he wouldn’t be dancing alone. His other half was doing the same just a few feet away.

_“You mean more to me, than words can ever say. Just to hold your hand and to know our love will stay feels so right…”_

He remembered the first time they’d danced, really danced, to this song. It was in their freshman year, and they were having one of their famed sleepovers.

_It was late at night, or was it early in the morning? The sun was just coming up, so anybody who was asked would probably consider it the latter. The boys hadn’t gone to sleep, though, having stayed up whispering to each other about anything and everything, the fact that they had nothing new at all to discuss entirely insignificant. They were in love, now, and things were different. So was this._

_Link was the one that pulled his new significant other out of the bed that they were currently sharing, citing the fact that it was, “Lionel, man. We’ve gotta dance to Lionel,” in order to get him to move._

_Rhett wasn’t even sure how the younger boy had recognized the song so fast. The radio was on practically the lowest possible setting so as not to disturb the parents down the hall; had Link developed supersonic hearing and kept it to himself?_

_In any case, the second McLaughlin son could tell that his beau would be greatly disappointed without a tired waltz or two, and it had always been hard to break his heart…_

_He wasn’t any less at risk of falling over from exhaustion than Link was, but before he could realize that it had happened, the shorter male was leaning on him for support under the guise of it being “proper dancing form”._

_They were most definitely not in any ballroom, and their outfits were a far cry from the suits that they_ **_should_ ** _be wearing to do this. They didn’t need proper_ **_anything_ ** _here. He knew that it was just an excuse, but it didn’t matter. None of those extra details did._

_Yes, they were in a half-filthy bedroom with clothes that definitely should have been put away by their owner nights before when he was told to do it._

_Yes, they were dressed in ratty tee shirts and falling-apart flannel pajama bottoms, barefoot on the chilled hardwood beneath them._

_Yes, the soundtrack to which they moved wasn’t blaring from a state-of-the-art audio system or being played on a stage by a full-piece band but was rather a whisper-quiet hum on a still morning._

_Yes, none of the circumstances were_ **_fancy_** _, but they were_ **_together_** _. The pair had each other, they were in one another’s arms. That’s all that was important. All they needed was the other one, and once they had that, it was perfect in their eyes. For all that they cared, everything else could just fall away._

 _Link had to force himself to stay awake until the song’s end, Rhett’s natural scent and the feeling of his strong arms enveloping his body tempting him to drift off. The thumping of the boy’s heart was calling to him, begging him to just… knock out, and it took all the energy that he had left to manage not to. He was the one who wanted to have this dance, so he was_ **_going_ ** _to see it through to the end._

_He was young, a child of only fourteen. He should be able to pull an all-nighter without issue and carry about his day with nothing more than a cup of hot coffee to hold him over until bedtime that night. But yet, here he was, each passing second making him feel like he was tired enough to fall asleep and never wake again. But, he supposed, that’s just what happened when one felt as safe as they’d ever feel._

Link was pulled out of his own head when Gabrielle spoke for the first time in a good few minutes. She hadn’t really had much to say since a couple songs ago, just content to sway and look up at him with a _stupid_ dopey smile. He got that it was a love-themed dance, but shouldn’t there be more upbeat songs played? People needed time to separate, especially when the people in question were hormonal teenagers. There wasn’t much that they could do in a public space, but come on now. The school should know better! “I need to run to the bathroom real quick. Don’t stray too far, all right? I don’t want much trouble findin’ ya.”

“I’ll do my best,” Link assured with a forced smile, his heart unclenching, if only just slightly. Finally, a break. “See you soon.”

* * *

 

Rhett was grateful for the fact that Amber wanted to take him up on his suggestion of chatting with her friends around the same time that Link’s date scurried off to Lord-knows-where. With their company gone, they were free to talk to each other. Or, more specifically, _Rhett_ was free to stomp over and demand that they slip outside to have a discussion of their very own.

He tried not to look angry because it really wasn’t Link’s fault. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just simply doing what they both had agreed upon, and Rhett had done the exact same. But even still, his blood boiled over and he found himself digging his nails into the heels of his hands to try to keep his emotions at bay.

The blond hadn’t expected the action to do very much for him, but the little help that it did bring was so pitiful that he wondered why he had even bothered at all, though that certainly wasn’t his mind’s current main focus.

His anger only grew when he was face to face with Link, the _traitor_ , and he couldn’t help the growl that escaped from the depths of his throat when he spoke. “We need to talk. Let’s go outside.”

He couldn’t see it, but Link could feel his eyes widening a considerable amount upon hearing Rhett’s tone of voice. Had he done something wrong, and if so, could Rhett tell him what that was? Because he certainly had no clue.

Rhett rarely ever used a voice like that with him, and when he did, it was when Link _knew_ he’d done something to piss him off. This… this was different. This was Valentine’s Day, and Link was being hissed at for no discernable reason.

Typically when Rhett was mad, they were in a fight. They were **both** angry and Link was too wound up to care that he was catching attitude from his significant other. Tonight, he was entirely calm, so he could recognize the fact that the way that he was being spoken to was _scaring_ him.

Rhett would never hurt him. Link knew that. The only times they had ever gotten physical, it was simply and strictly a play fighting affair. Neither one of them would ever raise a hand to the other in any serious capacity. **Ever**. But even despite knowing this, something told Link that it was in his best interest to obey what Rhett was telling him and follow him outside. Whatever the reason, Rhett was upset and not only did Link not want the situation to escalate, he wanted his love to walk away from their chat feeling better from whatever was bothering him. Letting him get whatever was eating at him off his chest was the only way to do that, so off they went.

Thankfully, Link had been stationed by the gym’s exit when Rhett walked up so it wasn’t a long walk to get out of the building and they didn’t have to weave through a crowd to do it, which, at least in Link’s book, was always a plus.

A blast of cold air hit him in the face like a pile of bricks the moment they stepped outside, the temperature change stark enough to shock him. Link hoped that he wasn’t wrong for praying that this conversation was over quickly because he was already regretting his decision to leave his coat at home. Of course, that was when he thought that the extent of his being outside would be walking from his car to his date’s door and then from his car to inside the school. He certainly hadn’t expected to have to _stand around_ in the February weather. An airy long-sleeved button-up wasn’t good enough for that!

Just as Link was about to open his mouth to ask what Rhett had brought him out here for, he was cut off by the older boy (in a very rude fashion, if he did say so himself).

“What the hell is that in there?” he inquired in the same manner that he imagined he would if Link had just held a gun to somebody’s head and shot them point-blank.

“What’s what, Rhett?” Link asked softly, looking up at him with big, innocent eyes. There was no sense in yelling back; one of them had to stay calm and off the defensive if there was any hope of diffusing this situation, whatever it may be.

Even in the relative darkness of the courtyard area, it was obvious that Link was unsettled, but Rhett just looked it right over. He was too riled up to pay much mind, just like he was uncaring of who passed by and heard or saw them arguing. “You know what I mean, Link! You’ve been all over Gabrielle _all_ night. Not even our song is sacred, huh?! You couldn’t pry yourself away from her for that?! I mean that little to you?!”

Link really didn’t want to do it. He knew that it was highly likely to only agitate his best friend even more, and that was the last thing they needed, but he had to. They were both lucky that they were the only ones outside, but that might not last. Rhett needed to stop shouting and **fast**. “Rhett, please quiet down. People might hear you,” the dark-haired boy said in a voice that was just loud enough to be heard, the polar opposite of how Rhett was using his. “We’ve done so much work to keep this, _us,_ quiet. Please don’t ruin it tonight.” Rhett had always been the one to obsess over whether or not they’d be caught in one act or the other, caught _together_. It was frightening to see him on the flip side of that coin, showing such a blatant disregard for being discovered. This was a kid who was terrified to lay his head on Link’s shoulder during movie night because he thought it’d be seen as ‘too gay’, and this was how he was acting? Link understood that logic was out the window when one was as angry- no, _furious_ \- as Rhett was, but this… this was a life-saving measure that he was spitting on.   

In response, Link received an expression that asked, ‘have you grown three heads?’. Rhett couldn’t believe that **that** was his concern. “Oh. _Oh._ **I’m** the one ruining it?” he asked, though he had the decency to lower his voice to do it. Despite the fact that he wasn’t happy about it, Link was right. They needed to keep things under wraps. “No. **You’re** the one ruining it. Gabrielle’s not your…” Rhett lowered his voice even more, “not your _boyfriend._ I am, Link. **Me**. This was just supposed to be a fake out, that’s all. But yet, you’re doing some prime time acting in there. All you have to do is sell it! How do you think it makes me feel to see her look at you like that?! _I’m_ the one that gets to do that. The **only** one.” Rhett looked away for a moment, if only to shake his head and glare into the darkness. “You know, I’m starting to think that maybe I ought to let people know about us. Sure, we’ll have trouble, but at least you won’t have your hands all over some chick so you can show a good front…- No, excuse me. Slip of the tongue. So you can show a _straight_ front.”

Link’s first reaction to what Rhett was saying was to panic. He wanted to tell people about their relationship?! ‘Some trouble’ was the understatement to end all understatements. With all of the blowback that’d hit them, they might as well be burned at the stake or stoned to death in the town square! Had Rhett scored some hard drugs without letting Link know?! He **had** to be on something to think that _that_ was a good idea.

But then, once he thought the words coming out of his love’s mouth through a bit more, he realized what was really going through his head. Rhett was **jealous**. After he had clued in on the truth of the situation, all of the pieces started falling into place.

 _I’m the only one that gets to do that. The_ **_only_ ** _one. At least you won’t have your hands all over some chick._

How hadn’t he realized that sooner?

“Oh…” he sighed, his face softening even more. Now, it wasn’t just a measure of self-preservation. Now, this time, he was sympathetic. “Is that what this is about, Rhett? You’re jealous?” Link would never have guessed that Rhett was _jealous_. Pissed off? Yes. Depressed? Yes. But jealous?

Link was shivering now, his hands reflexively coming up to rub his arms in an attempt to bring them some warmth. He’d learned just recently that _shivering_ in and of itself was supposed to generate heat for the body, but somehow, that didn’t seem like enough. “Hey, why don’t we go sit in my truck and talk about this, hon?” He’d catch hypothermia, the both of them would, if they didn’t do something to get out of this weather soon.

“I don’t want to go sit in the damn truck,” the blond spat, his eyes narrowing further which only served to tense Link back up. What had he done now?! “And don’t call me hon.”

“I’m sorry. _Rhett,”_ he corrected, fighting the urge to question ‘why not?’. He knew why. He didn’t get to try to cushion things with pet names when Rhett was in a bad enough mood not to want to hear him at all. “But I’m so cold. You must be, too. I can put the heat on for us in the truck so we’re not ice cubes, and we can talk all you want. Please?”

It was as if Rhett didn’t even consider the suggestion because there was no pause at all before he told Link flat out, absolutely not, **no**. They were going to do this here and that was that because he felt like he was on _fire_. The heat in the truck would do nothing but make it worse.

Link didn’t try to argue this decision, reminding himself that his overall goal was to **stop** a fight. As long as he could do it with a relative amount of speed, things should be all right.

Link knew that Rhett was angry, knew that he’d have to be talked out of thinking that Link _wanted_ this, wanted anybody but him. He knew that he’d have to **fix** this. He knew. But still, even though he understood why it wasn’t the case right now, he wished that Rhett was thinking of his best interest as well as his own. They didn’t have to go sit in the truck, no, but couldn’t Rhett at least offer him his suit jacket?

“Okay. No truck it is,” he confirmed, his teeth chattering from the chilled air. “But please hear me out. You’re the only one I want, Rhett.” Typically, they were fine with using each other’s names, even when they were alone. They’d called each other “Rhett” and “Link” way longer than they’d called each other “angel” and “sunshine”. But when they knew that they didn’t have the **option** of using what they referred to as a “love name”, _that_ was what made it feel bad. And right now, being stared down by a sad boy waiting for answers, Link felt worse than he had in weeks. “You’re the only one I love, and you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my _life_ loving. I can **promise** you that I’m not any more happy about this than you are, and we both know that’s not at all. The only reason I might have looked even a little bit happy to you, do you want to know what it is?” There was no way that Link was just going to ramble on until he was finished. Rhett had a habit of spacing out so that nothing could debunk his theories in an argument, particularly those that were extremely heated or in which he was frustrated beyond comprehension, his logic being that if he hadn’t heard it, it wasn’t true, and Link knew that better than almost anybody. He had learned that asking questions was a way to keep him engaged, and hell if he wasn’t going to utilize that trick every time he had to for as long as it took for Rhett to grow out of this… childish approach to conflict. They’d been working on it, but tonight was an obvious setback. Every work-in-progress had their bumps in the road, he supposed.

To Rhett, **hearing** that Link loved him and being _shown_ that Link loved him were two different things. Though being reassured helped some, that some was a _minuscule_ amount. Needless to say, words didn’t help nearly as much when he was as worked up as he was right now. “No. I really don’t.”

It was a calculated risk, really, saying what he wanted to in the **way** that he was going to. If it had been even a minute before, he might have thought of a different way to convey the sentiment, but he thought he had earned enough capital in the way that Rhett had slightly, just slightly, untensed a moment earlier. “Well, I don’t care. I’m going to tell you anyway.” Gosh, he hoped that that didn’t shut Rhett down completely. “The reason I looked at all happy was because I wasn’t… _here,_ in there. Mentally, I mean. I was going to go someplace else, and I knew exactly where. I was with **you** , Rhett. I was thinking about us and the first time we danced to our song. How you held and rocked me as you swayed and sunlight streamed through the curtains like some cheesy romance movie scene, how even though I was so tired I needed you to help me stand, I didn’t want to be anywhere else than on that floor with you. How _safe_ I felt with you, how **happy**. How gorgeous you looked with those damn... soft yellow beams playing on your skin.” He wondered if thinking about sunlight would give him warmth. “I was picturing that, and I was thinkin’ about how many more mornings like that we’ll get to spend together. I was biding my time until tonight was over because I **hated** how you weren’t the one in my arms. I was thinking about how I never want to hold anybody _but_ you. _That’s_ why I looked so happy. Because I was thinking about **us**.”

He wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from the emotion of the situation, from how it felt to wear his heart on his sleeve and to be so vulnerable, but before he had even finished, tears welled in Link’s eyes without a word of his permission. “Going to this thing with Gabrielle was nothing more than what we agreed on to save ourselves. It’s _never_ been more than that to me. Nothing like this that we’ve _ever_ done ever has. Gabrielle is a _beard_ , simple as that. I love you, Rhett. Only you. That will **never** change."

Rhett was silent for a moment, not very sure as to what he should say. He felt like a fool, a downright idiot, for making as big of a deal as he had. What was he so worried about? That Link would dump him and run off with a _girl_? No chance! Everything they’d ever done since the day they met pointed to the contrary. “I… I um.. I just…” he fumbled, his body losing its remaining tension as he slumped into himself, trying to hide behind nothing at all. He had just spent the past Lord knows how long acting like a petulant toddler! What could he say to make up for wasting Link’s time like that, for putting him through all of what he had? How he had acted was… he was _right_ to be **ashamed** of himself. As far as Rhett was concerned, right in the middle of the crash from his anger high, there was no apology that even began to come close. “Link, I… I don’t... “ He had dug himself into a hole, he was sure of it. He had made a complete _ass_ of himself, plain and simple, and the way Link was looking at him with such **understanding** and **patience** only served to make him feel worse. How did he deserve somebody who would always forgive him so unconditionally when _this_ was how he treated that person in return? “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t cut it, but I’m so sorry. I just… I don’t know what came over me. I was fine, and then…- It would have been easier if we both had gone with friends like we planned, because she was giving you that look like…” Like **she** was in love with him. Like **she** wanted to marry him. Like **she** was imagining a relationship that concluded with riding off into the sunset in a horse-drawn carriage. “Leslie wouldn’t have given you that look. It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s the.. It’s…-”

It was her. It was all Gabrielle. Rhett knew that Link would reject any and all advances that came his way, but that wasn’t the point. There would be a _mess_ to deal with. Link would _have_ to deal with getting himself off the hook, and Rhett didn’t want that. He didn’t want the drama. He just wanted to be with Link. Why was that too much to ask? And why, **why** , couldn’t he provide the boy with a coherent thought explaining that? Didn’t he owe him at least that much?

Thankfully, however, there were some perks to being friends for as long as the two have them had, one of them being the ability to fill in the gaps of what the other was thinking when they couldn’t quite articulate what they meant for themselves. With context clues and the bits and pieces that Rhett _had_ given him as well as the concerns that he had expressed in prior situations like this one, Link’s job was also made much easier and he was able to get on the same brainwave rather quickly.

“I know what you mean,” the black-haired boy assured softly, taking a risk by reaching out and placing a gentle hand on the blond’s forearm. “I’m okay with dealing with a jealous girl if it means I get to keep you. Sure, I would have _liked_ to go with Leslie instead so it wouldn’t be an issue, but I don’t mind a little extra work for such a big payout, you know? I’d be willing to do _anything_ I had to do to fight for you, Rhett. And if she’s angry about the fact that I don’t want her… pft, that’s her problem. And by the way, you have every single right to be upset. If I’m being honest, I was upset too. I mean, that’s our song, **ours** , and you’re dancing to it with somebody else? How dare you do that? Yeah, she’s just a friend and it’s not gonna go anywhere, but it still hurt me. It made me feel like I’d been stabbed.” Even as he spoke, Link was bouncing his legs up and down in a fruitless attempt to, he wasn’t sure… not freeze over? He had abandoned all hope of keeping any morsel of warmth in his body long ago, and the fact that the temperature of the air was dropping by the minute hardly helped matters. “Seeing you with somebody else never gets easier. I don’t think it ever will.”

Sudden realization hit Rhett like a ten ton truck as he watched, and for the first time that night really _saw_ , his boyfriend shake. He himself was still overheated, but was cooling off, though it was just now dawning on him that Link had felt like this all along. His pupils blew wide practically instantaneously, and if their current conversation wasn’t so intense, they were sure it would have been comical. If not the way that the size of his eyes grew, then the sheer speed at which he threw his jacket off of himself certainly would have had them rolling on the ground. Tonight, they were just concerned about getting him covered up. “Oh my god, you’re blue!” Rhett exclaimed, his voice involuntarily raising to a shouting volume. He couldn’t help it! Link looked like he’d been in a meat locker for a day straight he was shivering so much! “Here, take this,” he instructed, not handing his jacket over, but rather helping Link into it himself. Somehow, it made him feel better to be the one putting it on the sixteen year old. “Why didn't you tell me you were cold?!- Nevermind.” He knew why. He wouldn’t have cared, then. “Not important. Just… here, _please_.”

Link didn’t have the heart to explain to him that he had, in fact, tried to inform him that he felt like he was in the middle of the Arctic and that Rhett just hadn’t… that he’d been ignored. He could tell by the crushed look on the older male’s face that Rhett felt awful enough about how he’d made _Link_ feel. Doing so would only add insult to injury. Besides, why bring it up when the subject had already been dropped?

“Thanks,” he breathed, pulling the garment as tightly around himself as it would go; even though he was positive that the only way to truly defrost was to go back inside, it couldn’t hurt to put the material to use.

“Do you think maybe we should pick this back up later?” Rhett asked in a soft voice, one much more akin to what Link was accustomed to hearing. Now that he knew that his beau was seconds away from pneumonia, having this talk hardly seemed as important as getting him somewhere toasty was. Of course, that wasn’t to say that he was looking forward to going home and falling asleep with matters unresolved. Where they left off was a bad spot, to say the very least, and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to drift off for even a second with matters up in the air like this. But Link’s health and wellbeing came first, always and forever. Tonight was no exception. Finishing up would just have to wait. “I don’t want you to catch somethin’.”

Link was interrupted before he had the chance to respond to Rhett’s concerns. What more could he have expected from a conversation in public? Frankly, he was surprised that they had gotten as far as they had.

Rhett tried his best to keep himself composed when she appeared in the doorway, all smiles and sparkling green eyes and hair like raging flames, burning as hot as he would like to as he told her to keep her dirty paws off of _his_ man or else. He couldn’t do that. That wouldn’t be the well-mannered thing to do, and his and Link’s relationship as they knew it would go up in smoke because of it.

“Hey, you! Thought I told you not to disappear?” Gabrielle asked cheerily, and Rhett _swore_ he could see her give him the side-eye in the process. “I went on a wild goose chase lookin’ for ya inside! What are y’all doing out here in the cold?” That was obviously a rhetorical, or maybe she just plain didn’t care to hear Link's answer, because she merely continued on without waiting for one. “You should come back inside; I can warm you right up!”

Any heat that Rhett had lost in the past few minutes returned right away when that comment hit the air, but he (and probably the two other people before him) was lucky that he barely opened his mouth before Link replied.

It only took one look at Rhett for Link to decide what he needed to say, what had to be done. He was sure that the poor kid, despite his previous anger, was feeling abandoned. It was **Valentine’s Day** for Heaven’s sake, and the only part of it that they’d spent together had been spent on bad terms. He deserved better than that, and there was no way that Link could, in clean conscience, leave this conversation in a standstill and Rhett to rot in his own mind. He hadn’t done right by him all day, and he’d be damned if that was a trend that continued when it didn’t have to. “Actually, Gabby, I’m feeling pretty partied-out by now, and it’s getting late. Why don’t you go grab your coat and I’ll take you home?”

It was plain to see that Gabrielle was disappointed at this, but Link couldn’t bring himself to care. He had told her kindly enough, and she wasn’t his priority. Never would be. He had done all that he could to be kind under the circumstances, and he definitely wasn’t going to beat himself up over doing what was best for the one that truly mattered.

“Oh,” she acknowledged, her face dropping and her smile disappearing entirely. “Yeah, sure. No problem. See you in a minute?”

“See you in a minute,” Link echoed, and then he watched her turn on her heel and retreat inside once more.

He reached out to ghost fingers over the back of Rhett’s hand and gave him a small smile. Rhett had always said that Link’s smiles could rival the stars above, and tonight was no different. Yes, even with forgotten tears drying on his cheeks and the slight sadness in his eyes. Rhett didn’t care what anybody said; Link was beautiful in any form he may take. “And why don’t _you_ go fetch Amber and give her a ride like the gentleman I know you are? After that, take a detour to my place, and don’t worry about a change of clothes. I have plenty.”

Though the majority of the cells in his body wanted to fight it at the moment, Rhett’s lips began to upturn at the promise of a sleepover. Link wouldn’t ask him to sleep over if he was angry, would he? This was a good sign! “We’re not six anymore, Link. I’ve had like three more growth-spurts than you, and I don’t fit into any of your-”

“ _Your_ clothes, sunshine.” He figured that it was a safe enough bet now that the worst part of the storm had subsided. “Don’t think,” he lowered his voice again, “don’t think there’s not a boyfriend tax when you leave stuff lying around my room. Ever wonder why you can never seem to find some of your sweaters?”

Of course. Rhett had just thought he’d gone crazy, especially seeing as Link never wore his clothes in his presence. Not only was he a thief, but he was a _secret keeper_. He should have known, but he was hardly surprised. However, he couldn’t bring himself to scoff indignantly (of course while he battled a smile of his own), something he usually would do, upon the truth being revealed. He was just glad to be invited over, and his heart was too warm over the love name for it to matter much, almost negating the fact that it still felt mighty heavy from business unfinished. “I’ll be there.”

Rhett took Link’s hand for what was only about a half a second before breaking contact as he went back inside, but he didn’t worry too much. As long as everything went well tonight, which he was hopeful it would, he would have plenty more opportunities to hold it.

Rhett dreamt of the day when he could hold Link’s hand for as long as he wanted without _fear_ that somebody was watching. He dreamt of the day when driving their dates home meant driving **each other** home. He dreamt of the day when they wouldn’t have to sneak around and didn’t have to yell about jealousy. He dreamt of the day when it wouldn’t be called a sleepover, but simply “coming home”.

Every day they got through was a day closer to days like those, and even though there were a lot of things to “suffer” in the process of getting there, good moments along the way were the ones that made the wait worth it. Good things like a sleepover, kisses stolen in silence, and knowing that Link liked to have the smell of him linger long after he was gone. What they had wasn’t without flaws justyet, but he loved it all the same. It was _theirs_ , something they were in together, and as long as he had Link by his side, whatever came along with it was secondary. His love was all he’d ever need.


End file.
